Contest Conquering
by hydrarianbeast
Summary: A young girl named Tara gets the opportunity to get her first pokemon, and start on the road to becoming a coordinator. She plans to enter the Sinnoh Grand Festival, and then maybe pursue other ambsions. Though, a dastardly plan and an evil women make this dream a little harder to achieve.
1. Chapter 1

"Oh, where's the lab?"

I looked around Sandgem town, hoping to see a giant billboard or something. Professor Rowan was holding a class in his lab for new trainers, and I get lost!

I straighten my cat-eye glasses, which sat on my freckled nose rather awkwardly. It was supposed to be right here. Wait. I flipped the card over, and moaned. Man, I had the map upside down. I quickly start rolling down the street on my rollerblades. I could see the lab now. I just might make it.

I do make it. I unfortunately can't stop my rollerblades very well, and fall through the doors. I quickly stand back up. Good. Nobody noticed.

Professor Rowan addressed everyone. "Now, it's good to see that all of you made it. This won't be a very long class. As a matter of fact, it will more be like an exam. I've been seeing a decline in good qualities for trainers. Here is where I will see if you all are fit to get your first pokemon."

He held out a large box with pokeballs in it. "Now, everyone take one pokeball." We all did as he asked. I got the last one. Rowan looked at me funny, probably because I was in a helmet and blades, but he didn't say anything.

"Now, Go outside and release your pokemon. Prepare with it to battle. Learn its moves, get to know its strengths and weaknesses." We were all a little shocked with this sudden battle test we were about to partake in.

I rolled over to a nearby tree, where I took my blades off and put on some shoes I had in my bag. I then threw my pokeball into the air.

The device popped open, and out came my pokemon. "Oh, a blaziken!" I cried as the creature stood up. It had a flame patterned bandanna going around its head, and it winked and smiled at me. "Okay, wild guess here, but you're a girl, right?"

It nodded. "Okay. My name's Tara." I shuffled my feet. "Now, I'm about to battle with you, so, if you could show me your moves, I think it would help out."

Blaziken laughed. She patted me on the shoulder, trying to get me to relax. It then moved a good distance away, and started to do its moves.

She was amazing. First, her hands and feet burst into flame, and she started a series of kicking and punching. Okay, I think this was fire punch and blaze kick. Then, she split into multiple blazikens. This was double team. They all held their hands up, where sunlight seemed to gather. They all shot a glowing beam of light into the sky.

"Wow! You can use solar beam? That's amazing!"

Blaziken laughed, her copies of herself now gone. I smiled. "Okay, so you know two fire type moves, both close range. We can use double team to trick them so you can get in for an attack. Solar beam can be useful if we need some space from the enemy."

"Okay everyone, it is time for the battling to start!" Professor Rowan called.

I picked up the pokeball. "I don't think you should go back in just yet." Blaziken nodded, and we walked down to the professor.

"Now, my co-workers and I will be battling you. Everyone pair up and get ready to go." Everyone scurried to get to a lab member, not wanting to go against the professor. Why couldn't there be any hotheads wanting to try to prove there the best?

I, unfortunately, was paired against the professor. He looked at Blaziken. "I think I too shall use a Hoenn pokemon." He released a pokeball, and I groaned inwardly.

Of all the pokemon to use, he had to go with metagross? The giant colossal pokemon appeared. I wasn't looking forward to this at all. Blaziken put her hand on my shoulder, and gave me a thumbs up. I nodded, putting on a determined face. I was Blaziken's trainer, and I was going to win.

"You may do the honors," Professor Rowan called.

I nodded, and pushed my thick blonde hair out of my face. "Blaziken, use double team!" Multiple blazikens appeared, and started to run confusingly around the giant pokemon. It looked at them all. I could tell it knew which one was real. "Quickly, catch your hands and feet on fire!"

Blaziken did as I said, and now streaks of red, orange, and yellow made it much harder to even see a single blaziken, let alone the real one. Metagross blinked. It had lost the real one.

"Not bad, my dear," Professor Rowan said. "But battling a psychic type is much harder than that. Metagross, use psychic."

The X on his face started to glow blue, and all the blazikens stopped moving. Then, all of the fake ones disappeared, and Blaziken was left, floating in mid air, being crushed by an invisible force.

"Solar beam!" I cried. I knew it wasn't going to do much, but Metagross just needed to be distracted long enough to drop her.

The light particles formed in front of her mouth. She opened to fire, but was shot into the sky. She then came back down, and hit the ground with extreme force.

She got up slowly. I held my breath. She faced her opponent one last time, then fell to her knee. It was over.

I withdrew Blaziken into my pokeball. Rowan walked oveer. "Why do you look so sad? You did fine. I never expected you to win. The fact that you could handle Blaziken with that much skill is amazing."

I sighed. "Yeah, but losing still doesn't feel that good."

"Well, I think that you two would make a pretty good pair. If you would like, I can give you her instead of the ordinary starters."

I looked at him in shock. "Really? But isn't she even rarer than the starters here?"

"Yes, but I could borrow one from Professor Birch anytime. Now, if you come inside, I can give you a pokedex and some pokeballs." I followed him towards the lab, and looked at some of the other battles. Some were still going on, while others were talking to their lab people.

Inside, Professor Oak handed me a pokedex and five pokeballs. "Here you are. I must ask; what are you planning to do? Will you challenge the gyms, or enter in contests?"

My face lit up. "Oh I want to enter in contests. The feeling of seeing your pokemon taking the breath away from the audience, then dazzling them with their power." I sighed, lost in my own little dreamland.

He chuckled. "Well, you best be on your way then. I hear they're holding a contest in Oreburgh. It would be a good place to start."

I nodded. "Thank you." I ran out the door, my spirits high. "Oreburgh City, here I come!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow, this city is huge!" I exclaimed as I entered Jubilife City. I'd never been in a giant city like this.

Blaziken stood next to me, surveying the scene with wonder. We were seriously excited. We just needed to make a quick stop at the pokemon center and we could be on our way to Oreburgh.

I walked down the street. "Now, where's the Pokemon Center?" I saw a woman with extremely long red hair that seemed to be held up with a lot of hair spray. "Excuse me, ma'am. Could you tell me how to get to the pokemon center?"

She turned around. Across her extremely short white shirt was a giant red R. She wore full arm black gloves and black boots that went half way up her thigh. "You talking to me?"

"Um, yes. Do you not know either?"

"I do, but I'm very busy."

I looked at her. "Aren't you part of that trio of pokemon thieves that came from Kanto? Team Socket?"

She glared at me. "It's team Rocket. And yes, I am the beautiful Jessie." She cleared her throat, and launched into a well rehearsed motto. "To protect the world from devastation." There was a long pause, and she sighed. "It just isn't the same without the rest of the gang."

"Where are they?"

"Well, our boss gave us some time off since he had enough workers on the job, and I came here, not knowing where the others went."

I nodded. "Well, that means you're not busy. Can you show me to the pokemon center?"

She scowled at me. "Why should I help a brat like you?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Because this brat is the owner of a hungry Blaziken." Blaziken cracked her knuckles for emphasis.

Jessie was about to retaliate, when we heard someone calling after their pokemon. "Scizor, come back!" We turned to see a boy running after his pokemon, which was running around with a sword at great speed.

It stopped in front of us, and seemed to lock onto Blaziken. With a huff, it charged. Blaziken nimbly dodged out of the way, but the attacker quickly came back. It was swinging the sword extremely fast. Blaziken was just barely dodging the attacks.

"Blaziken!" I cried. I looked at Jessie. "Please help me. I don't own any other pokemon."

Jessie looked uncertain. Just then, Blaziken moved a half second too slow, and the sword cut a long gash on her left arm. She grimaced, but kept dodging.

Jessie pulled out a pokeball. "Quick, serviper, use poison tail!" The pokemon appeared out of the pokeball, and quickly launched itself at the scizor. Its tail glowed purple, and it hit the scizor aside, sending it flying away.

The boy finally reached us, and quickly withdrew his pokemon, as did Jessie. "I am so sorry! Did he hit your Blaziken?" He wore a yellow visor over his blonde hair. He wore a blue shirt and ripped jeans.

Blaziken clutched her arm, which had started to bleed badly. His face paled. "Oh no. I'm so sorry."

I quickly ran over to Blaziken. "Well don't just stand there, you two! I need to get her to the pokemon center now!" The ran over as well, and we all picked her up and started to run.

We reached the pokemon center, and we burst through the doors. Nurse Joy wasn't at the front desk. "Nurse Joy! I need help!"

Instead of Nurse Joy, or even a chansey, a blissey came running. It wore a nurse's hat and a necklace. She looked at Jessie, and started jumping up and down in joy. I looked at Jessie. "Why is she so happy to see you?"

"Because she was my old nurse school roommate." She smiled at her. "It's good to see you again. Now, this pokemon has a cut on her left arm. What do you do?" The pokemon ran back down the hallway, and came running back with a large gurney. We loaded Blaziken onto it, and Blissey started to roll it quickly down the hall.

We took Blaziken into one of the rooms, which was loaded with medical supplies. Blissey quickly grabbed a bowl of clear liquid and a sponge. Jessie quickly stopped her from soaking it. "Remember, rubbing alcohol hurts when applied. It must be done gently." Blissey nodded, and started to gently apply the fluid. Blaziken's fist clenched, but she didn't say a word.

I looked at the boy. "Why did your scizor attack her?"

"He's extremely strong. I evolved him from a scyther, and now he won't listen to me. He attacks fire type pokemon because they are the biggest threat to him."

The door opened, and we all turned to see Nurse Joy. "What is this?" She took one look at Blaziken's arm, and quickly grabbed some gauze and threw it to me. "Wrap the wound. How much blood was lost?"

"Not too much," I said. I handed the gauze to Blissey, who looked at it and frowned. She held it up for Jessie to take.

"You never did get wrapping down, did you?" She said. She took the gauze and started to wrap the arm. Blissey grabbed a pen and a note card that had been nearby and started to go through its checklist. She then handed it to Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy looked through the list. "The cut wasn't very deep, but it was quite long. Had it gone any farther it would have cut a serious artery. What caused the cut?"

"A sword," the boy, who still hadn't introduced himself, said. "Made of steel, and recently cleaned."

"Well, it is rather irresponsible to have pokemon out when a weapon is nearby," Nurse Joy scolded.

He hung his head. "It was my fault. My scizor owns a sword, and he doesn't listen to me. He went crazy, and got Blaziken before I could withdraw him."

"Well you'd better get him under control or take his sword away," She said. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, who are all of you?"

"I'm Tara, and this is my blaziken," I answered. I looked at Jessie. "This is Jessie, who I had been talking to before Scizor showed up."

"I'm Ron," the boy said.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Now," she turned to Blissey, "who are you? I don't believe you work here."

Blissey pulled out a card and handed it to Nurse Joy. "Oh, so you are a transfer from the Johto region. Well, let me get you signed in." I hesitated, not wanting to leave Blaziken, but Jessie finished wrapping. Blaziken sat up, and moved her arm around. It was working fine. She looked at Nurse Joy, who nodded. "You may leave." We all followed her out of the room.

She walked up to the front desk, and booted up the computer. She looked at the card, then typed in some numbers. After a moment, she frowned. "That's odd." She looked at the card again, and typed in the numbers slower this time. She handed the card back. "I'm so sorry, but your transfer went unregistered. I can't hire you."

Blissey looked shocked, and rather sad. Jessie walked up beside her. "Well, can't you just call whoever runs this and get it registered?"

Nurse Joy shook her head. "It's not that simple. When you get this card, they are supposed to go and put the number into their database. That way, when you transfer, they know that you are a qualified pokemon nurse."

Blissey hung her head. Nurse Joy looked up something on the computer. "But, there might be work for you in Oreburgh. They are in great need of nurses for pokemon when they go deep into the mines. They might be willing to hire you." Blissey perked up at this.

I turned to Ron. "What are you planning on doing?"

"I was actually headed to Oreburgh too. I was going to challenge the gym."

I smiled. "Well this works out perfectly. I was going to go there to enter in the contest they're having. We're all heading to the same place. We can travel together."

Jessie raised an eyebrow at me. "Excuse me? I never said I was going to Oreburgh."

"You are going to be Blissey's escort. She can't go by herself. What if someone tries to catch her?"

She was about to argue, but Blissey looked at her pleadingly. She sighed. "Fine, but the second we get there, I'm out of here. I'm not going to babysit some kids."

I rolled my eyes. "Right." I looked outside. "It's getting late. Let's rest up and get ready in the morning." I looked at Blaziken. "Let's go raid the cafeteria!" Blaziken and I ran down the hall, leaving our traveling mates standing there, wondering what they just agreed into.


	3. Chapter 3

"Are we there yet?" Jessie complained.

"No, but I think we're almost there," I called back. I was far ahead, looking around, hoping to see a pokemon to catch. "I really hope I can find a pokemon. It would be awfully hard to win a contest with only one."

"Well, if you do plan on entering, shouldn't you at least get some practice in?" Ron asked, catching up to me.

I thought about it. "Yeah, but I haven't quite figured out what I want to do yet. Though I have an idea." I pulled out Blaziken's pokeball, and released her.

"Use double team!" I commanded. Blaziken split off into a large circle of copies. "Now, light your hands and feet with blaze kick and fire punch!" Every blaziken was lit ablaze.

Hear came the harder part. "Start spinning!" Every blaziken started to spin rapidly on spot, causing the flames to blur together. "Now start moving clockwise!" The ring of fire started to slowly turn. So far, so good.

Just as I was about to give the next command, the ring broke up, and all of the fake blazikens disappeared. The real one was stumbling around, dizzy.

"Hmmmmm," I mumbled thoughtfully. "Maybe the spinning part doesn't work right. I have a better idea. Split up and catch fire again." Blaziken did so, and then I had a huge ring of burning pokemon staring at me, awaiting orders. "Now, start running in a circle." Without spinning, every single one of them started to run clockwise, creating the same blurred effect. "Okay, um, now start making the ring smaller." They did so. "Now have the real blaziken jump up towards the middle of the circle and have all the fake blazikens run in towards each other." A lone Blaziken leaped up, and all the others darted inward. Blaziken landed in the middle of them all, and they disappeared, showering Blaziken in sparkling lights. The landing was nothing fancy, but we could work on that later.

"Not bad," Jessie said. "You'll fit in just fine."

I smiled at her. "Thanks."

She smiled as well. "You know, I was in many contests once. I got to the semi-finals of the Grand Festival. I might be willing to give you a few pointers."

I frowned. "But you weren't in the last Grand Festival. I know, I watched it." Then it hit me. "Wait a minute, you're Jessilina?" She nodded, smiling at her own brilliance. I scowled. "There was something I never liked about your contest style."

She stopped smiling. "And what might that be?"

"You always seemed to want to show off yourself, not your pokemon. Why would you want do take away attention from them? You show off yourself by showing how well your pokemon can perform."

"Hey, you guys!" Ron called, standing at the end of the road with Blissey next to him.

Jessie and I ran over to where he was, and a bit farther down the road, a city stretched out. Oreburgh.

"Come on, let's get going!" I called to them, having taken off.

"What is it with you and running?" I heard Jessie complain. I ignored her. I was going straight to the contest hall and registering.

After what felt like forever, I found the contest hall, and walked in once Jessie and Ron caught up to me. Inside was wonderful. All of the coordinators with their beautiful and powerful pokemon. It was breathtaking.

I walked up to the receptionist. "I would like to register for the contest."

She smiled. "Is this your first contest, dear?"

"Yes."

"Then put your pokedex in the slot below you," she said, indicating to the machine in front of me. I did so, and my picture appeared on the screen above me, along with all of the information in the pokedex.

"There," the lady said as my pokedex, along with my brand new contest pass, appeared out of the machine. "Now you are all set. I'll just get you registered." She typed a bit on her computer, then turned back to me. "All done." She pulled out a small metal case, a clear sphere, and some stickers. "Here are your ball capsules, some seals, and a case to hold your ribbons."

I took them. "Thanks."

"Good luck."

I walked back to Jessie and Ron. "Okay, the contest isn't until tomorrow. Ron, you said you wanted to challenge the gym?" He nodded. "Well, get yourself ready, cause your about to win a gym badge."


	4. Chapter 4

"I don't know if I can do this," Ron said.

We were standing outside the Oreburgh City gym. Ron was facing the door, his face a little pale. Blissey patted him on the back and offered some of her egg. He declined.

"Come on, this'll be easy," I encouraged. "Is this your first gym battle?"

"No, but when I faced my first gym, Scizor was a scyther and he would listen to me. Now I have to beat this guy without using my most trusted pokemon."

"Well, I still think you'll be great." I pushed him hard, and we busted through the door.

The inside was like most gyms. Got the battlefield, the bleachers; it was pretty nice. The battlefield was covered in rocks, so I found that new. The gym leader, Roark, was standing on his side of the field, as though waiting for us.

"Ron wants to battle you," I said, pointing at him.

Ron, who had fallen on the floor, got up, scowling at me. "Way to ruin the moment."

"Well, if I hadn't intervened, you would still be outside."

He rolled his eyes and looked at Roark. "Well, even without the usual proper announcement, I do wish to challenge you. Do you accept?"

He blinked, probably still wondering what just happened. "Uh, sure. Are either of you two ladies willing to referee?"

I raised my hand. "I'll do it, as long as you don't mind me cheering him on."

"That is fine."

Ron and I went to our respective places. "Okay, Roark, how do you want to do this? One on one? Three on three?"

"Three on three will be fine."

I nodded, and stood perfectly straight. I had always wanted to do this. "This will be a three on three battle. Are you ready?" They nodded. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Go, Geodude!" Roark said, releasing his pokemon.

"Go, Shellos!" Ron said, releasing his, which was pink, showing he got it from the west coast.

Roark started the battle. "Geodude, use rollout!" Geodude pulled in his arms, and he started to roll very quickly towards Shellos.

Ron was quick to counter. "Use water pulse!" Shellos opened its mouth, and shot a glowing blue sphere at the rolling pokemon. It hit it, and geodude slowed a great amount. "Now use muddy water!" Brown water churned around Shellos's feet (Tentacles? Crawlers? Whatever.) and then shot at Geodude. He flew back and landed hard.

Roark looked stunned. "Come on, Geodude. Get up." Geodude, looking very weary, got up. "Try rollout one more time!" He, once again, started rolling towards Shellos.

"Shellos, use harden!" Ron commanded. Shellos's body was outlined in blue, and when Geodude hit him, they skidded back a bit, but Shellos stayed firm. "Now use water pulse!" Shellos opened its mouth, and shot the up close pokemon with the blue sphere. Geodude fell back, unconscious.

I lifted my left hand, which was on Ron's side. "Geodude is unable to battle. Shellos wins!"

Roark withdrew his pokemon. "Good try." He faced Ron. "Well done. Are you sticking with shellos?" Ron nodded. "Okay then. Go, Onix!"

The colossal pokemon was released. This was going to be interesting. Roark started again. "Onix, use slam!" Onix's tail came up, then slammed down on Shellos. When the tail moved, Shellos was missing.

"Where did it go?" Roark said. Onix was looking around, wondering the same thing. I couldn't help but snicker. I knew where he was.

"Now, Shellos, use muddy water!" Shellos, appearing on top of Onix's head, started its attack. The brown water started slow, but soon it was cascading down the giant rock snake. When the water stopped, Onix's eyes were closed, and he fell to the ground. Shellos got off calmly.

I raised my left hand again. "Onix is unable to battle. Shellos wins!"

Roark withdrew his onix. "That is quite the powerhouse you got there. Are you sticking with it?"

Ron withdrew Shellos. "Nope. Go, Wynaut!"

Roark laughed at the little blue pokemon. "That pokemon is worthless. Go, Rampardos!" His main pokemon came out. It scraped its foot on the ground, ready to charge.

Roark started for the final time. "Use head smash!" Rampardos tilted his head down, and charged. As he picked up speed, he became surrounded in a white and blue aura.

Ron muttered the words that any trainer should dread. "Destiny bond."

Rampardos struck Wynaut, and it flew backwards, landing extremely hard on the ground, unconscious. Then, as though having received a mind of its own, its tail lifted off the ground, and looked at Rampardos. Rampardos's eyes widened, and he fell to the ground as well, unconscious.

"Rampardos is unable to battle. Ron wins!"

I smiled at him, who smiled back as he withdrew his pokemon. That was crazy. Beating Roark with only two pokemon. I don't know why he had been so worried. One thing was quite clear; standing there was one seriously good trainer.


	5. Chapter 5

"Man, this is terrible!" I said. I was currently getting ready for the contest, and I couldn't get my hair right. I couldn't find a good way to wear it without looking like an angry operator or a schoolgirl.

I looked at my elegant braid in the mirror. No good. I undid it. What to try now?

"You seem to be having some trouble," a calm male voice said behind me. "Allow me to help you." I felt a hand delicately grab my hair, then a curler clamped down on it. It was a seriously huge curler since it grabbed all of my hair. He rapped it near the bottom, then released it.

I looked in the mirror, and gasped. The upper half of my hair was perfectly straight, and the bottom went into one single curl, draped over my shoulder. It was amazing.

I turned to see the person who did it. "Thank you," I said.

He smiled. "You are welcome." His appearance was both elegant and calming. His light green hair flowed down to her shoulder blades, and was tied in a low ponytail at his neck. He wore a white tuxedo with a flute strapped to his side.

I held out my hand. "I'm Tara."

He shook it. "I am Luke. Is this your first contest?"

I nodded. "Yep. Yours?"

He shook his head. "Third actually. I haven't won one yet, but I feel like this one might be my moment."

An evil laugh came from our left. "Oh, look. Loser Luke found another reject to talk to."

An older woman walked over. She had yellow blonde hair curled on both sides of her head. Her purple eyes were staring cruelly at us both. She wore a simple black dress with a tulip pinned to it.

Luke scowled. "Hello, Domino. Fancy seeing you here."

She laughed again. "Yes, fancy seeing me, the one who beat you at both of your previous contests."

Luke smiled. "Yes, though I seem to need to remind you that you keep getting crushed in the semifinals."

Her smile vanished, and her face got a little red. "Well at least I made it _to_ the semifinals." She looked at me. "And who might this reject be?"

"Tara. And I must say, you are lovely."

She almost smiled. "Of course I am."

I smiled to. "Yep. You don't look a day over fifty."

Her face turned so red you would have thought that it was filled with bug juice. I laughed, and Luke joined. Domino scowled. "Laugh all you want. I will crush you both." She stalked away.

I looked at Luke. "Who was that?"

"The nastiest competitor I've ever met. She's good, but she is terrible. Know what I mean?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I picked up the bag that had been hanging on my chair. "Well, the first round is about to start. I got to go put on my dress."

He nodded. "Okay. Good luck." He walked away, and I ran to the dressing room to change.

Once I finished changing, I looked in the mirror. My red dress wasn't anything fancy, though it was perfect for spinning. It had a single strap, where I had a small rose bud pinned. I also had a small flame shaped hairpin to keep my bangs out of my face. I was ready.

I walked into the waiting room, where all of the coordinators were waiting for their turn at the appeal round.

Marian appeared on the screen that was in the room. "Welcome to the Oreburgh City contest! Let's all give a big hand to our judges: Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo, and Oreburgh's very own Nurse Joy!" The camera cut to the judges, who all waved.

"Now, let's get on to the first round!" Marian said. "Our first contestant, hailing from Flomora Town, Luke Marcus!"

The crowd cheered as Luke walked calmly on stage. He waved, then pulled out his pokeball, which was inside a ball capsule. "Cherrim; it's showtime!" He threw the pokeball into the air, where it opened with many pink petals, which covered the pokemon from view.

"Use sunny day!" Luke said.

Out of the group of petals came a white sphere, which shot into the sky. Good thing it was an open area. The sunlight grew extremely bright, and the pink, smiling pokemon jumped out of the petals, dazzling the audience.

"Now use magical leaf and petal dance!" Cherrim released two glowing green leaves, which flew in a giant circle around her. Then she held up her small arm, and a great ring of pedals was released around her.

"Wow, look at that poise and elegance!" Marian cried. "Oh, and what have we here?" The green leaves started spinning quickly around the ring of petals, and the ring contrasted into an hourglass shape.

The petals started to spin a bit faster, and Cherrim was lifted off her feet. She flew up the spiraling petals, and flew out the top. She landed spinning, and then fell down and laughed. The audience laughed as well, loving how cute Cherrim looked.

"Wow, what an amazing way to take advantage of petal dance!" Marian said. "And using the confusion that petal dance causes to show of the cuteness of his pokemon; it's astounding!"

"That was rather beautiful," Nurse Joy said. "The amazing poise then cuteness of the pokemon was a great way to show its many personalities."

"Remarkible!" Mr. Sukizo said.

"Yes, that was very impressive," Mr. Contesta said. "It was amazing using the disadvantage of being confused after petal dance and incorporating it into the routine."

The crowd cheered one last time for Luke, and he walked off the stage.

"That was amazing!" I cried as Luke walked back in. "You are extremely good. I hope I can be as good as you."

"You flatter us," Luke said. Cherrim, who had switched back into her overcast form, looked away shyly.

"Now, welcome Domino, from the Kanto region!" Marian said.

Domino confidently strutted onto the stage. "Let's go, Ninetales!" She said, throwing her pokeball.

Her pokemon was released out of the pokeball, covered in delicate blue flames. "Fire blast!" Domino cried. Ninetales lifted her head towards the sky, and let loose the giant starburst of fire.

"Now use iron tail!"

Ninetails jumped into the sky, above her first attack, and all of her many tails glowed white. She started to come back down, and she started spinning. Her tails strick the attack, and it broke up into many burning sparkles. She landed gracefully, and lifted her head to the crowd. The crowd was cheering loudly.

"Wow, the way she could show off her pokemon with so few moves is astounding!" Nurse Joy said.

"Yes, I am quite dazzled. That was extremely well done," Mr. Contesta noted.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said again.

"Domino really made a splash here in this round!" Marian said. "It will be hard to top that!"

"Good luck, reject," Domino whispered to me as she walked in. "You'll need it."

"Next up we have Tara, a girl from the far north Snowpoint city, making her debut here in Oreburgh!"

I walked onto the stage, and looked at the crowd. I was rather nervous. I swallowed my feelings and smiled. "Blaziken, dazzle them!" I threw my pokeball straight up, and Blaziken burst out, flipping over and over, surrounded by the fire from the seal I had put on the ball capsule, and landed kneeling. The crowd cheered.

"Now, let's use double team!" I raised my hand in the air, and Blaziken split off into the ring of copies. "Light!" They all did a hand spring outwards, and as they did, their hands and feet caught fire.

"Wow, what a hot performance is going down right now!" Marian said. "These two are on fire!"

"Now, start running!" I cried. All of the copies started running in the circle, making the ring of fire. "Now shrink!" They started moving inwards, still in perfect sync, and the ring started to get smaller.

"Single out!" I commanded.

The real Blaziken leaped into the air, flipping once again, and all the copies ran inward. Blaziken landed in the middle of them, and as they burst into the light, she did a back flip, coming up next to me, and we both held up our hand in the peace sign and winked at the crowd.

"My goodness, that crowd is going crazy!" Marian said. She was right. A bit of the crowd was actually up on their feet cheering for me.

"That was increadible!" Nurse Joy said. "The flames and ending showcased their fiery personalities perfectly!"

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said again. Does he ever change it up?

"I rather enjoyed that," Mr. Contesta said. "The way they showed off Blaziken's firepower and athleticism was very well done."

"Well, it looks like this debut is starting off well! We all can't wait to see more!" I looked at Blaziken. She nodded, and we both blew a kiss to the crowd, then walked of the stage. We could hear the crowd eating it up behind us.

When I got back in, Luke was standing next to Jessie and Ron. "You talked about how good I was, but you were even better!"

"That _was _really good," Jessie commented.

"Are you kidding?" Ron asked. "She rocked it!"

I laughed. "You guys."

We all watched the rest of the contests, and once it was over, Marian walked to center stage. "Now that we are finished, it is time to see the results of the first round. The winning eight will advance to the next round. Who will they be?" She indicated to the giant screen above her.

The screen started to display pictures. I saw Domino, then Luke. Oh no. Did I not make it?

Then, near the end, I saw the picture that I wanted to see. "Yes, I made it to the next round!"


	6. Chapter 6

"All right everybody, it's time for the next round of the contest!" Marian said. "These eight competitors will be paired for the next round." She indicated to the screen above her. Our pictures were arranged into a bracket display. I was against some girl named Darla. And we were the first round.

I nodded, looking at the screen in the waiting room. Here we go.

"Good luck," Luke, who was standing at my side, said.

"Thanks." I turned to Blaziken. "You ready?" She gave me a thumbs up, and we walked out of the room.

We got to the stage, which now had a battlefield on it. Our competitor, who was a girl in a flowing purple dress, was standing on the other side.

"Okay, these coordinators will use their most dazzling moves to strip points from the other. They only get five minutes. Are you ready?" We nodded. "Then let's get started!"

"Let's go Blaziken!" I said. Blaziken jumped out to the field, and stood ready to fight.

"We enjoy your fighting style," the girl, Darla, said. "I shall fight you in the same manor. Go, Medicham." She threw her pokeball, and her psychic pokemon came out with a bunch of confetti.

I started the battle. "Blaziken, use double team!" Blaziken broke off into three blazikens, and they all held up their fists, ready to fight.

"Medicham, use detect." Medicham's eyes glowed green, and it also got in a ready position.

I knew what to do. "Use blaze kick!" The three blazikens charged the pokemon. They all jumped up, and their feet caught fire. As the two sides came in, Medicham moved out of the way gracefully. The two disappeared. The real one went over medicham, landed on her hands, and swung her foot around, sending Medicham flying.

"Wow, look at that trickery and grace!" Marian said. The screen, which now showed our life meters and the clock, showed Darla's points go down a bit.

"Impressive," Darla said. "Now it's time for some close in fighting. Medicham, use combat."

I was confused. This must have been a fusion move. "Blaziken, get ready to dodge."

Medicham moved in, moving with a series of punches and kicks. Blaziken would nimbly dodge them all, though some were getting close. Finally, Medicham leapt into the air, and, with its knee glowing pink, struck Blaziken.

In her left arm.

Blaziken gasped in pain and retreated, clutching her arm. My hand moved to my mouth. I had completely forgotten about her injury.

"It looks like there is something wrong with Blazikens arm!" Marian exclaimed. My meter went down a great amount.

Blaziken moved her hand away. The bandage around her arm was starting to turn red. The wound had reopened.

Blaziken saw some of the people coming to escort her off the field, but she shot them a blazing look, and they backed away. I looked at her. "Are you sure?" She nodded. "Okay then. Get ready for a solar beam."

Blaziken opened her mouth, and sunlight started to gather. "Quick, Medicham, attack her left arm. It is her weak point."

Medicham ran forward. "Wait for it," I told Blaziken. "Now!" Blaziken leapt upwards, and grabbed Medichams head with her legs, she flipped, bringing Medicham with her, grabbed her arm, then had her pinned on the ground.

Which was perfect for our up close solar beam.

Blaziken let loose her attack, which washed completely over Medicham. When the light cleared, Medicham was unconscious.

"Medicham is unable to battle. Tara wins!" Marian announced.

Nurse Joy, having left the judges table, pulled out a pokeball. "Chansey, take care of this pokemon." She released her pokemon. Which guided Blaziken off the arena. I followed. "I completely forgot her arm was wounded."

Nurse Joy and her chansey worked for a while, then came back to me. "It's all right. Only part of her cut reopened. She should be fine. She can't battle anymore, though."

I nodded. "Blaziken, when you're finished here, go find Jessie and Ron." Blaziken nodded, and I ran to the waiting room.

"Jessie, Ron, I need to borrow one of your pokemon."

Jessie pulled out one of her pokeballs. "Seviper knows haze, poison tail, wrap, and bite. You think you can come up with some pretty ways to use it in battle?"

I shook my head. "I'm not using Seviper in the contest. I'm going to catch a pokemon."

_Jessie p.o.v_

"Do you really think she could catch another pokemon before she has to battle again?" Ron asked me.

I was currently sitting in the stands watching Luke fight some boy from Hearthome with Ron, Blissey, and Blaziken. "I don't know. I'm rather worried about something, though."

"What's that?"

"That Domino. I know her. She is an elite officer in Team Rocket."

"Do you think she could be here on some work?"

"I don't know, though I do know that she wouldn't be entering here just for the fun of it."

"Times up!" Marian said. "Luke is the winner!" We both cheered for him.

Marian walked to center stage once again. "Now we are on to the semifinals. Here are the matchups." She indicated to the screen.

"Looks like Tara is fighting Domino." Ron noted. "And they are first. I hope she's back."

Domino walked to her side of the field. We both let out a sigh of relief when Tara did as well. "You both know the rules. Let the battle begin!"

Domino pulled out a pokeball. "Let's go Glameow!" She through it, and her pokemon appeared surrounded by a bunch of hearts.

Tara pulled out her pokeball. "Dazzle them, Febass!"

"Febass!" Ron and I cried, looking at each other in horror.

The crowd laughed as the ugly pokemon appeared in a bunch of bubbles. Domino was dying. "What a pathetic pokemon! It suits you perfectly!"

Febass's face became even more depressed looking. "Don't worry about them," Tara said. "You'll do great. Just show them what you can do."

Domino smiled cruelly. "This'll be easy. Glameow, use furry swipes!" Her pokemon came in, and started to seriously scratch up Febass. It then jumped away, and smiled at Febass, imitating Domino's cruelty. Tara's point meter went down.

"Now use iron tail!" Domino said.

Glameow's tail glowed white, and she charged Febass.

"Febass, dodge with splash!" Tara commanded.

Febass slapped the ground hard with its fins, and it flew into the air. Glameow stopped in her tracks. "Now use tackle!" Tara commanded. Febass started to fall, and it landed hard on Glameow, then came back up, flipping through the air and landing in front of Tara.

"All right Tara!" Ron and I cheered, most of the crowd with us.

"Wow, look at that! It takes some serious skill to use splash effectively!" Marian said. Domino's meter went below Tara's.

Domino growled. "No one makes a fool out of us! Glameow, use quick attack!" Glameow started to run at Febass, followed by a trail of white aura.

"Surf!" Tara cried.

A giant wave of water appeared behind Febass. Febass rode on top of it as it moved forward. "Now use ice beam!"

A blue ball of energy appeared in front of febass's mouth, and it froze its wall of water. It slid down it, then stopped at Glameow's right. "Again!" Tara said. Febass erected four more walls of water, and froze them all. Soon, Glameow was surrounded by a giant wall of ice.

Domino was stunned. "Glameow, break out with iron tail!"

"Febass, use surf one more time!"

Febass, still atop its last ice wall, let loose a wave of water into the cage. It swirled around the sides, making a whirlpool, with Glameow flailing around in the middle. Febass jumped in, and started to swirl around with the water.

"Splash!"

Febass was thrown high into the air by the water, and it started flapping its fins wildly, trying to pick up speed as it fell. It hit the water, and the ice barrier cracked and broke apart as the water exploded upward.

The water flowed away, and Febass floated in front of Tara. Glameow floated in front of Domino, eyes closed and unconscious.

"I don't believe it!" Marian cried. "Glameow is unable to battle! Tara wins!"

"You did it, Febass!" She said. Her new pokemon jumped into her arms, and she hugged it, then waved to the crowd.

"Come on," Ron said. "Let's go meet her in the waiting room." We both made our way there, and got there at the same time Tara did.

"Tara, that was amazing!" Ron said.

Tara laughed. "Yep. Febass here is one strong little lady." She set her down, and she hopped of to play with Blissey and Blaziken.

Tara pulled out another pokeball. "Here's Seviper back." I took the pokeball from her. "It was quite usefull."

"Never mind that," Ron said. "Don't you realize that you are competing in the finals?"

Tara's eyes widened in realization. "I am!"

I smiled at her. "You were great. Now go win your first ribbon!"


	7. Chapter 7

"All right, everyone," Marian said. "It's time for the finals of the Oreburgh City contest!"

The crowd roared. I stood facing Luke, who also had made it to the finals. Blaziken was still out of commission, so I had to go with Febass. She's good, but I might be in trouble if he goes with Cherrim.

He smiled calmly at me. "Good luck."

"You too."

"All right, you two know the rules. Are you ready?" Marian asked. We both nodded. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Dazzle them, Febass!" I said, throwing her pokeball, which burst open with a bunch of pretty blue bubbles.

"Cherrim; it's showtime!" Luke said, thowing his pokeball. It burst open in the many petals which swirled around Cherrim, who was currently in her depressed overcast form.

"Febass, do you think you're ready to try our new move?" I asked.

Febass hopped around to look at me. It ever so slightly shook side to side. I sighed. "Okay then. Start off with an ice beam to give us a floor advantage." Febass nodded also ever so slightly, and hopped back around to face Cherrim. Then it shot it's beams of white energy at the ground.

"Cherrim, use sunny day," Luke said. Without even trying to deal with Febass, the green on top of Cherrim's head glowed white, and a beam of energy shot into the sky. The sunlight grew harsh. Cherrim glowed white, and changed into her cheerful sunshine form.

During all of this, Febass had coated the ground in a thick layer of ice. There was a small patch where Cherrim was standing. "Looks like both pokemon took the opportunity to try to give them an advantage," Marian noted. "Who will prevail?"

"Febass, get right in front of me and use surf." Febass hit the ground, and flew over, landing directly in front of me. A gaint wave was erected under her, and it charged towards Cherrim.

"That is a water move," Luke said, confused. "It won't hurt Cherrim that much."

"No, but the ice will."

As the wave went forward, the ice it passed by broke and rode up the it reached the top, it would shoot outward towards Cherrim.

"Wow! Using the ice coated field, Febass uses what could be called an improvised ice shard!" Marian commented. Lukes meter went down.

"Impressive," Luke said. "But we have a plan as well. Cherrim, use magical petal."

"Watch out, Febass; that's a fusion move!"

Cherrim started to spin, and as she did, a spinning column of petals moved towards Febass. Then green leaves joined the petals. The attack broke through Febass's wave and plopped her on the ground, then trapping her in a horizontal cyclone.

"Look at how well they counter!" Marian said. "Looks like Febass is in some serious trouble!" My meter went down about half.

"Now, Cherrim, finish her off with solar beam!" The berries on Cherrim's head started to glow white.

I didn't know if my next move would work, but it was my best bet. "Febass, try to couter with ice beam! Give it as much power as you can!"

Just as Cherrim let loose her golden beam of light, Febass let loose her ragged beam of ice. The two clashed, and hung in the air. I was starting to worry. What if Febass couldn't hold off the attack?

"Look at all of that power! Who's attack will break through?" Marian said.

Then, something amazing happened. Around the middle, where the moves met, ice started to crawl up the solar beam attack. "Come on Febass! I know you can do it!"

Cherrim started to strain under the effort of holding her attack. The only reason she could hold it this long was the strong sunlight. "Cherrrim, give it one last push!" Luke encouraged.

Cherrim grunted, and the wave of golden light seemed to pulse with power. The ice forming on it shattered, and the attack broke through, washing over Febass.

When the light cleared, Febass had fallen over, and was unconscious. "Febass is unable to battle! Luke wins!" Marian exclaimed.

I withdrew Febass. "Good try."

Luke walked over. "That is one strong Febass. Take good care of her." He held out his hand. I grabbed it to shake it, but he grabbed hold, lifted both hands, along with mine, into the air, and faced the crowd. "They all love you. Take a bow." At the same time, we both bowed, and the crowd went wild.

I walked off the stage, then watched Luke receive his ribbon. He was a good kid. Then, walking up behind me Ron, followed by Jessie, held up his hand. "Way to rock it! You might not have won, but you were awesome!" I laughed, and gave him the high five.

Jessie smiled as well. "You did real good. Luke is just more experience than you."

"Tara Donaria, you are in huge trouble!"

I whirled around, horrified to hear that voice. Man, why didn't I think? The contest was broadcasted on TV.

"Mom!"


End file.
